Playboy 3

The Thai cargo ship Heron and the Honduran oil tanker Playboy 3 collided in international waters, about 32 miles from Sattahip’s Chuang Island on September 12 at approximately 6:50 a.m. One crewman from the Playboy 3 went missing and is feared dead.

After colliding with the Heron, Playboy 3 slowly sank in the Gulf of Thailand, about 32 miles from Sattahip’s Chuang Island.

The Heron, a 12,000-ton Thai cargo ship captained by Namtapon Tanpraphan, was carrying rice. The Playboy 3 was carrying 200,000 liters of diesel fuel from Honduras.

The Royal Thai Navy dispatched a cruiser and a submarine from Naval Region 1 to investigate the accident. When they arrived on the scene, the Playboy 3 was already mostly submerged, with only the bow of the ship above the surface of the water. Sister ships Playboy 1 and Playboy 6 were in the area lending assistance.

The accident occurred in an area where the depth of the water was about 30 meters. Eight crewmembers from the Playboy 3 were rescued. Divers were looking for the ninth crewmember; however, rescuers fear he is already dead.

There were no signs of diesel fuel in the vicinity, as the ocean currents had most likely already carried the spill away.

The cause of the collision is still under investigation and whether the diesel fuel aboard Playboy 3 was illicit fuel or not has yet to be determined.